OREANDA-NEWS. June 26, 2012. The two KfW subsidiaries KfW IPEX-Bank and DEG will officially launch their new joint representative office in Singapore with a festive reception for clients. In the presence of Germany's ambassador to Singapore, Ms Angelika Viets, and high-ranking industrial leaders, KfW's Executive Board member Dr Norbert Kloppenburg together with Christian K. Murach and Markus Scheer, both members of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank, and Bruno Wenn, Chairman of the Board of Management of DEG, will inaugurate the office in the city-state, which is a commercial and financial hub for the South-East Asian region.

KfW IPEX-Bank and DEG, both wholly owned subsidiaries of KfW, will operate the new representative office together. "The financings offered by the two institutions complement each other very well because the Asian market demands both classic export finance products and instruments for the financing of direct investments. As a German promotional bank, KfW is very active in both areas", said Dr Norbert Kloppenburg, who is not only on KfW's Executive Board but also on the Board of Supervisory Directors of KfW IPEX-Bank and First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Supervisory Directors of DEG.

"Singapore is the most important financial centre in the region and an ideal location for international businesses using the city-state as a gateway to the countries of the ASEAN community and to Australia. Given that Germany is the most important European trade partner of the ASEAN states, we have chosen Singapore as a location from which to provide even better support to German exporters and investors in their activities in the region", said Christian K. Murach. "The new representative office brings DEG closer to its clients. From here it can expand its acquisitions in Asia and network more closely with important multipliers. These include regional banks, funds, auditing firms and law firms", said Bruno Wenn commenting the establishment of the new representative office.

After the regulatory authority in Singapore gave its approval and issued the license, KfW IPEX-Bank and DEG moved into the office and initiated first business operations already at the end of last year. It will be headed by Wolfgang Kassel (KfW IPEX-Bank) and Dr Hubertus Pleister (DEG). With the new office KfW IPEX-Bank now has a branch office in London and nine representative offices around the world (Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Sao Paulo and Singapore). DEG is also represented in a number of main-focus regions with twelve offices or representations (Accra, Bangkok, Beijing, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Lima, Moscow, Nairobi, New Delhi, Sao Paulo and Mexico City). In total, representatives of KfW Bankengruppe work in over 70 cities worldwide.